News in the case investigating the finances of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. The judge of the National Court, José Luis Calama, has summoned his daughters, Laura and Alba Rodríguez Espinosa, to testify as defendants on November 30. And he has also commissioned the Yanes jewelry a gemological and jewelry expert report on the pieces seized in the search of the former prime minister’s office, carried out on May 19.
According to a communiqué from the Judiciary, in the order that approves the expert report, Judge Calama specifies that the gemologists and appraisers of the Yanes jewelry must opine on various aspects of the jewelry pieces. Among them, the possible identification of the geographic area of creation, the identification of the precious metals, their current replacement value and of the entire lot, as well as their age.
Similarly, the inspector informs the defense of the former head of government that, within three days, he can provide all the documentation he possesses relating to the jewelry. The resolution orders the transfer to the Yanes jewelry of the six gemological reports carried out by the Spanish Gemological Institute last June on the seized pieces of jewelry.
At that time, this value was calculated by the prestigious jewelry shop Ansorena, in collaboration with the Spanish Gemological Institute, as stated in the expert report. It was then reported that these jewels had an estimated market value of €1,323,915. At that time, the judge already indicated that this commission was made “without prejudice to a subsequent expert appraisal that would cover other analytical data of interest.”
Yanes: History of Jewelry in Spain
In 1881, Claudio Yanes, a native of Malpica de Tajo (Toledo), opened his first jewelry shop in Madrid. The inspiration of the brand is linked to Spanish art. Its founder decided to establish the business in the 19th century, fascinated by the discovery of the Visigothic treasure of Guarrazar in his hometown. From that historical impact was born its iconic Malpica collection, which together with the Alhambra collection, established its identity.
Claudio Yanes, el fundador de la firma.
Her rise to prestige would come, however, when Yanes was tasked more than a century ago with crafting the jewelry for the guests at the wedding of Alfonso XIII and Victoria Eugenia. Since then, the firm became a regular supplier to the Spanish Royal Family. Today, that historical link remains in force, with it being common to see Queen Letizia wearing earrings and other exclusive pieces from the brand at official events.
Today it is Cristina, Juan, and Luis Yanes who hold the generational continuity of the brand. Cristina Yanes, who is also president of the Spanish Association of Jewelers, Silversmiths and Watchmakers, told MujerHoy how her firm has reinvented itself over time. “Before, almost every year we made at least one bridal tiara; now that type of jewel is not sought. Today, if you wear some good earrings, you can go without a necklace or wear a very simple one. The aim is to achieve a harmony in which the piece complements the outfit and marks an aura of exclusivity.”
The Yanes Jewelry and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
Before the judge in the Plus Ultra case commissioned the Yanes jewelry to prepare the gemological and jewelry expert report on the pieces seized in the search of the former head of government’s office, the jeweler Juan Yanes had already analyzed those pieces. It was on the program Más Vale Tarde on La Sexta, where the president of the firm pointed out that the jewels were “authentic” and could be valued at “a couple of millions” of euros.
One of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s jewels.
At that moment, the master jeweler sought to differentiate two distinct lots among Zapatero’s jewels: “One set may be familial. Then there are four or six pieces of an apparently incalculable value.” And he added that “to me they are authentic pieces, with a certain percentage of possibility that someone may have wanted to create imitations.”
